SB 

483 

.W88C3 



DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

FRANKLIN K. LANE. SECRETARY 

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE 

•STEPHEN T. MATHER. DIRECTOR 



A NATIONAL PARK ON THE 
POTOMAC RIVER 



ADDRESS :: By AMOS B. CASSELMAN 

DELIVERED AT THE NATIONAL PARKS CONFERENCE 
AT WASHINGTON. D. C, JANUARY 5. 1917 




WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1917 



Cb\^y 



D. of -- 



SB -4 S3 

A NA^ONAL PARK ON THE POTOMAC RIVER. 

By Amos B. Casselman. 

The Government of the United States for some years past has 
been planning to develop the water power of the Great Falls of the 
Potomac, and in connection therewith to provide increase in the 
water supply of the city; couplino; together these two projects, of 
water supply and water power; and it is recognized that some plan 
for the purpose must be adopted before many j^ears. Development 
of water power, for the use of the citj^, and Government, is not an 
urgent or immediate necessity, and might be long postponed, or dis- 
pensed with. But increase in the water supply of the city will 
become necessary in the near future. So, it is evident that the pres- 
ent is a proper time to consider the subject as one of deep interest 
to the people of this city, and especiall}^ in its relation to the subject 
of park extension, for the National Capital, for it has an obvious 
relation to that subject. 

A few years ago I gave some study to questions that have some 
relation to this subject — questions arising from the act of retroces- 
sion of 1846. by which the United States gave back to Virginia the 
whole of Alexandria County; and the feasibility of regaining some 
part of that territory to the United States, or embracing it in a 
riverside park, and heretofore I have made the suggestion that in 
connection with this necessary work that is being planned by the 
Government there ought to be created a national riverside park, ex- 
tending from this city to the Great Falls, and embracing both banks 
of the Potomac: and no doubt all will agree that such a park is much 
to be desired; especially in view of the Government's interests and 
property rights, in this region, as part owner of the Great Falls, 
owner of the Conduit Road, leading from this city to the Great 
Falls, and the recognized necessity of acquiring additional riverside 
territory in connection with the proposed water power development. 

There are many reasons that might be urged in favor of such a 
park — reasons unnecessary to elaborate at length. President Taft 
at one time sought to secure legislation that would restore to the 
District of Columbia some part of Alexandria County. He gave 
that up; but in his annual message to Congress, in 1910, he recom- 
mended creating a palisades park on the Virginia side of the Po- 
tomac, extending from the railroad bridge to the county line at the 

22312—17 8 



4 NATIONAL PARK ON POTOMAC RIVEE. 

Little Falls. Ambassador Bryce also, in a notable address on the 
subject of Washington City, made some suggestions, and among 
others that there ought to be a roadway along the crest of the Vir- 
ginia hills that border and overlook the Potomac, with steps for the 
preservation of the forest growth that covers these neighboring 
hills. My suggestion goes further than the recommendation of 
President Taft. If there is to be a park on the riverside it ought 
not to stop at the Little Falls. It ought to be a national park, ex- 
tending to the Great Falls and including territory on both sides of 
the river. 

The river region from this city to the Great Falls is one of un- 
usual scenic features which make it peculiarly suited to become a 
great natural park, located as it is in such proximity to the National 
Capital. It would be difficult to find a counterpart for this pic- 
turesque region. There is nothing like it in proximity to any other 
great American city. Ambassador Bryce, in his address, said : " No 
European city has so noble a cataract in its vicinity as the Great 
Falls of the Potomac," and that it " would be almost an ingratitude 
to Providence and to history and to the men who planted the city 
here if you did not use the advantages that you here enjoy." And 
since the Government in the near future will be compelled to enter 
upon some plan of developing the water power or water supply of 
the river, at great expense, an expense of $15,000,000, according to 
the estimates of the engineers, it ought to include in its plan? the 
preservation of the scenic features of this picturesque region and 
create here at the Capital a national riverside park. 

The latest plan of the engineers provides for a lake above the city, 
to be created by the construction of a high dam at the Little Falls, 
the lake thus created extending a distance of 9 or 10 miles to the 
foot of the Great Falls, and submerging an area of about 3,000 
acres, to be acquired by the Government at an estimated cost of 
$1,500,000. 

The Government is not committed to the plan for a lake or to any 
of the several plans that have been suggested. Opinions may differ 
as to the advisability of the plan for a great artificial lake and dam 
just above the city. But whatever plan may be adopted it should 
include provision for the preservation of the scenic features of that 
region and its inclusion in the parking system of the Capital. 

In any plan for a park at the Great Falls, a necessary feature 
would be a bridge spanning the river at that point. There ought 
to be a bridge there in any event, to accommodate the many visitors 
and sight-seers who are attracted to the place by its scenic and his- 
toric character. There are electric railroads from this city to the 
Falls, on both sides of the river. But there is no means of crossing 



NATIONAL PARK ON POTOMAC RIVER. 5 

except in a rowboat, when the stage of the water will permit of that 
method of crossing. If there were a bridge at the falls connecting 
with the Conduit Road on this side, and the Leesbiirg Pike on the 
opposite side of the ri\ er, the route from this city soon would become 
a popular and famous driveway for automobiles; every automobile 
touri.^t, visiting the city from distant points, would include the 
Great Falls as one of the points of interest to be visited. The bridge 
and connecting boulevards would bring the falls into closer rela- 
tions with this city, as well as with ISIount Vernon with which it is 
united in historic association. The great man who lies buried at 
Mount Vernon is associated in history with the Great Falls, by his 
having engineered the cutting of the canals around the Great and 
Little Falls, the first canals ever dug in the United States. They 
give to the place an historic interest. Gen. Washington, I believe, 
manifested a deeper interest in this project to circumnavigate the 
falls b}^ means of a canal, and thus make the upper Potomac an im- 
portant waterway than in any other civic enterprise, except only the 
location and planning of the National Capital. 

The plans of the engineers for developing water power have in 
view only a practical commercial object. It is no part of their plans 
to provide for a park in connection with the power development. 
That is beyond the scope of their instructions. Whether there is to 
be a great riverside national park, as a feature of this proposed 
development, will depend on the degree of public interest mani- 
fested. For if there is a lack of public interest or of public desire 
for such a park it can not be expected that Congress will originate 
measures and make the large appropriations necessary for the pur- 
pose. 

Some of the great parks of this country owe their existence to 
private initiative and private philanthropy. Many instances could 
be cited. Shaw's Garden at St. Louis, one of the beautiful parks of 
that city, is, I believe, the gift of a gentleman whose name it bears. 
A great and beautiful park within the city of Cleveland is the gift 
of Mr. Rockefeller. In the New York Times of January 7 it is 
stated that John D. Rockefeller, jr., will soon present to New York 
City a tract of 57 acres within that city to form a part of the second 
largest park in the city, and for which he paid $5,000,000. 

A recent and notable instance of a great pnvk created in part by 
private philanthropy in cooperation with the State is that of the 
Interstate Palisades Park on the Hudson above New York City, 
embracing teriitory in the two States of New York and New Jersey. 
Many unsuccessful efforts had been made to secure cooperative action 
and legislation by the two States to create a riverside park that 
would preserve the palisades that were being defaced by the opera- 
tion of the quarries. But it required private initiative and private 



6 NATIONAL PARK ON POTOMAC RIVEE. 

philanthropy to iiiimgiirate a successful movement for the purpose. 
Pierpont Morgan was the first to make a donation of $125,000, 
afterwards increasing it to $500,000, for the purpose. It was pro- 
posed, finalh', that the Avealthy men and women interested should 
raise a fund of $2,500,000, on condition that the State of New York 
should appropriate a like sum and the State of New Jersey a pro- 
portionate sum for the purpose, and this was done. Mrs. Harriman 
contributed a million dollars and 10,000 acres of land, Mr. Rocke- 
feller $500,000, and a number of others $50,000 each^ including Mrs. 
Eussell Sage, Mr. Munsey, Mr. George W. Perkins, and others. The 
creation of such a park was of course the work of several years. A 
joint park commission was created by the two States in 1900, and the 
park was formally opened to the public nine years later — in 1909. 

In an editorial in the New York Sun, just before the late election, 
urging an affirmative vote on a proposed appropriation of $10,000,000 
for park purposes in the State, allusion is made especially to the 
Palisades Park and its great benefits to the people of New York. 
In this editorial it is stated that during the summer of 1916, a 
million and half persons visited the park, and that at once place 
5,000 boy scouts enjoyed the camping privileges of the park. 

It Avill be seen readily why I allude especiall}^ to this Palisades 
Park, on the Hudson, and to the methods that were adopted as nec- 
essary to secure it, by enlisting the aid and support of wealthy 
philanthropists of New York and New Jersey. 

It is because the conditions here, not very unlike those at New 
York, invite similar methods and similar appeals to philanthropy 
to secure a national riverside park here on the Potomac, embracing 
territory in the neighboring States of Virginia and Maryland, em- 
bracing the rare scenery of the Great Falls; a park that in the years 
to come, when fully developed, will add to the fame and beauty of 
the parking system of the capital. 

In recent years there has developed a growing interest in Wash- 
ington City as a beautiful capital and a desire and purpose to make 
it one of the most beautiful in the world; and this interest is not 
merely local. It is felt and manifested throughout the country 
and finds expression almost daily on the part of citizens and societies 
representing all sections of the country; and there is no reason to 
doubt that the methods that were adopted, and that enlisted the 
support of wealthy philanthropists in securing the Palisades Park 
at New York could be adopted here with equal success. What was 
accomplished there in a large way could be repeated here in a smaller 
way, for no great or large philanthropy would be necessary for 
the purpose here — nothing like the great amount secured at New 
York. 



NATIONAL PARK ON POTOMAC RIVER, 7 

One specific suggestion I have made is that funds might be con- 
tributed to put a bridge at the Great Falls. That would seem an 
appropriate and effective means of inaugurating a movement 
for the purpose. A bridge there, with connecting boulevards and 
driveways and bridle paths would reveal and familiarize and make 
accessible many of the hidden beauties of that picturesque region 
that are now virtually inaccessible. I make this suggestion only 
because as a comi)arativeh' small philanthropy it would seem the 
most appropriate means of centering and crystallizing popular and 
official sentiment in favor of a park. 

The suggestion for philanthropic initiative to secure a national 
park here at the capital is made because it is evident that a successful 
movement for the purpose can not be inaugurated in any other way. 

The purpose of the Government some diiy, in some w^ay, to develop 
the water power of the river has been under discussion, intermit- 
tently, for many years. As long ago as 1898 a Senate committee 
recommended the immediate acquisition of the sole ow^nership of 
the Great Falls. Ten years later, in 1908, plans of development 
were suggested by the officials under instructions of the District 
Commissioners. In 1913 Congress directed surveys and a report 
which were made by Col, Langfitt, who reconnnended the plans, 
already referred to, for a high dam and lake above the Little Falls. 
Within the past few months a board of Army engineers, designated 
by Secretary Baker, has given a qualified approval to the Langfitt 
plans, but recommended that the matter should be made the subject 
of further thorough study. So nothing has been decided, and the 
one thing that is clear is that the Government is not ready at this 
time to take any important action or adopt or commit itself to any 
definite plan of development. 

And hence the conclusion that if there is to be any action in the 
near future toward securing a national park here, as suggested, it 
must be from individual eifort on the part of the people who are 
interested in the welfare of the city, and not from any initiative 
that can be expected from the Government. 

There are in this city, and elsewhere among those Avho are in- 
terested in its growth and development, social and financial leaders 
who, if they would consent to actively interest themselves in a move- 
ment for the purpose, coidd quickly secure the voluntary contribu- 
tion of funds necessary; and with such initiative there is no 
doubt the Government would respond and cooperate and hasten its 
plans in the adoption of measures necessary for the purpose. 

There is no better way. and perhaps no other way, to enlist the 
support of the Government and hasten its plans than through pri- 
vate philanthropy on the part of those who are capable of initiating 
a movement in that manner. Theie is a rare opportunity for a 



8 NATIONAL PARK ON POTOMAC KIVEB. 

comparatively small philanthropy to inaugurate a gi'eat movement, 
one that will enlist both popular and governmental support and 
result in creating a great park for the Capital. 

Summarizing briefly my suggestions, the main proposition, that 
there ought to be here a national riverside park embracing the beau- 
tiful and picturesque scenery of the Great Falls and the riverside, 
would seem to require no argument. To those who are familiar with 
this region it makes its own elofjuent appeal. 

So the question is not whether we should have such a park, but 
whether there is any feasible plan by which it can be secured. It 
can not be secured by waiting and relying on Congress to provide 
for it. The people of Washington have been Avaiting 25 years for 
the proposed memorial bridge, and must still wait no one knows how 
many years longer. 

I do not say this in criticism of the Government or of Congress. 
Everyone knows how impossible it is for Congress to do all that its 
Members would like to do or feel ought to be done. Appropriations 
for urgent and necessary purposes and for imiDrovements more or 
less necessary throughout the wide domain of the United States pile 
up and exceed the revenues, and it is said that at this time the Gov- 
ernment is confronted or threatened with a deficit of $300,000,000, 
and I suppose Congress is studying to devise new methods of taxa- 
tion to meet this deficit. Under these conditions it would be idle 
to ask or expect any large appropriation for a bridge or a park. 

But there are some things that can be done by the people here 
without Avaiting on Congress. Put a bridge at the Great Falls, or 
inaugurate some other philanthropy designed to initiate a movement 
for a great national park and Congress will follow that lead, and by 
this means you can enlist the support of the Government. An asso- 
ciation formed for the purpose, a Great Falls national park associa- 
tion, could do many things. It could cause surveys to be made with 
maps and illustrations showing the area and outlines of the territory 
available and suitable for the purpose. It could, I have no doubt, 
secure from Congress an appropriation of the small amount sufficient 
for such survey. It could, above all, insure united effort and enlist 
the support of all who are interested, which would mean all the people 
of Washington, and a great many elsewhere. 

Aside from other considerations, the parking system of the capital 
ought to extend to the Virginia side of the river, opposite the city, and 
embrace territory in what was intended to be and was originally a 
part of the seat of Government. Incidentally, it is interesting to 
note that there is an area of at least five or six hundred acres of shal- 
low river bed between this city and Alexandria, on the Virginia side, 
beyond the deep channel, that can be and probably at some future 
time will be reclaimed, filled in, and included in the parking system 



NATIONAL PARK ON POTOMAC RIVER. 9 

of the city. As part of the river bed, it belongs to the United States. 
A portion now between Analostan Island and the railroad bridge is 
being partitioned off by a wall that separates it from the deep chan- 
nel and will be filled in and reclaimed from the river bed. A much 
larger area that can be thus reclaimed lies below the bridge, on the 
Virginia side. 

The growth and transformation of this city since Alexandria 
County was given back to Virginia in 1846 have been marvelous and 
wholly beyond the conception of the men of that day. No doubt 
the developments of the next TO years will be equally great — 
perhaps beyond what we of to-day could anticipate. 

It will not be very many decades until the city will have a million 
population, when it will be too late to acquire territory for a river- 
side park or preserve the forest growth that now covers and beautifies 
these neighboring Virginia hills. The time to do that is noAV, when 
the Government is planning to ac(iuire territory necessary for water- 
power purposes. Nor is there much time for delay, for that portion 
of Virginia immediately opposite the city is being built up and 
utilized rapidly for residential and other private uses. And if the 
people of this day have that regard which each generation should 
have for those who are to come after the}^ will initiate measures that 
ultimately will secure for this capital a great park, national in char- 
acter, embracing and preserving the rare natural scenery of the river- 
side and the Great Falls, a park for the recreation of the teeming 
millions of future generations, with boathouses and bridges and fer- 
ries, bridle paths and camping grounds, a park for the multitude 
worthy of a great capital. 



^inoikRY OF CONGRESS 

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